Occupation | |
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Occupation type | Specialty |
Activity sectors | Medicine, Surgery |
Description | |
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Fields of employment | Hospitals, Clinics |
Reproductive endocrinology and infertility (REI) is a surgical subspecialty of obstetrics and gynecology that trains physicians in reproductive medicine addressing hormonal functioning as it pertains to reproduction as well as the issue of infertility. While most REI specialists primarily focus on the treatment of infertility, reproductive endocrinologists are trained to also test and treat hormonal dysfunctions in females and males outside infertility. Reproductive endocrinologists have specialty training (residency) in obstetrics and gynecology (ob-gyn) before they undergo sub-specialty training (fellowship) in REI.
Reproductive surgery is a related specialty, where a physician in ob-gyn or urology further specializes to operate on anatomical disorders that affect fertility. [1]
In a number of countries, the pathway to become a subspecialist in REI is regulated. Thus, in the United States, for instance, the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ABOG) and American Osteopathic Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology set the standards for subspecialists to become certified. After four years of training in Obstetrics and Gynecology, a three-year approved fellowship needs to be successfully completed. Then, to become board certified in reproductive endocrinology and infertility, one must first complete board certification in obstetrics and gynecology (written and oral exams), and then certify in reproductive endocrinology and infertility (written and oral exams).
In the United States, fellowship in reproductive endocrinology and infertility usually takes 3 years, and is offered in 40 centers across the country as of 2013. [2]
In the European Union, the European Board and College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (EBCOG) has accreditation centers for a subspecialist training program in reproductive medicine at 4 centers across the EU as of 2012. [3]
In Australia and New Zealand, a training program in reproductive endocrinology and infertility takes 3 years, and is offered in 15 centers across the two countries. [4]
Reproductive endocrinologists Certified by ACOG often belong to a specific medical society named Society for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility (SREI). As a condition of full membership, medical practitioners must be ACOG-certified in the reproductive endocrinology and infertility subspecialty. [5]
Also, many academic journals in obstetrics and gynaecology dedicate many articles to reproductive endocrinology and infertility.
Endocrinology is a branch of biology and medicine dealing with the endocrine system, its diseases, and its specific secretions known as hormones. It is also concerned with the integration of developmental events proliferation, growth, and differentiation, and the psychological or behavioral activities of metabolism, growth and development, tissue function, sleep, digestion, respiration, excretion, mood, stress, lactation, movement, reproduction, and sensory perception caused by hormones. Specializations include behavioral endocrinology and comparative endocrinology.
Obstetrics and gynaecology is the medical specialty that encompasses the two subspecialties of obstetrics and gynaecology. The specialization is an important part of care for women's health.
Gynaecology or gynecology is the area of medicine that involves the treatment of women's diseases, especially those of the reproductive organs. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, forming the combined area of obstetrics and gynaecology (OB-GYN).
Pediatric endocrinology is a medical subspecialty dealing with disorders of the endocrine glands, such as variations of physical growth and sexual development in childhood, diabetes and many more.
Reproductive medicine is a branch of medicine concerning the male and female reproductive systems. It encompasses a variety of reproductive conditions, their prevention and assessment, as well as their subsequent treatment and prognosis.
Carlos Sueldo is a physician and professor of obstetrics and gynaecology (OB/GYN) for the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Sueldo is also the founder (1984) and present Director of the in vitro fertilization IVF Fertility Center. Dr. Sueldo concurrently serves as the Scientific Director at the Center for Gynecology and Reproduction (CEGYR) in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and is a founding board member of the World Endometriosis Research Foundation.
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG) is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to the establishment of high standards of practice in obstetrics and gynaecology and women’s health. The College has a strong focus on women's health advocacy and trains and accredits doctors throughout Australia and New Zealand in the specialties of obstetrics and gynaecology. Its head office is in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1998, with the amalgamation of the Australian and New Zealand organisations. As of 2018, the College had 2,211 Fellows in Australia and New Zealand; 277 subspecialists, and 2,549 Diplomates.
John Edmond Buster is an American physician who, while working at the University of California at Los Angeles School of Medicine, directed the research team that performed the first embryo transfer from one woman to another resulting in a live birth. It was performed at the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, reported in July 1983, and culminated in the announcement of the birth on February 3, 1984. In the procedure, an embryo that was just beginning to develop was transferred from the woman in whom it had been conceived by artificial insemination to another woman who gave birth to the infant 38 weeks later. The sperm used in the artificial insemination came from the husband of the woman who bore the baby.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to obstetrics:
Inna Berin is a Russian-American obstetrician and gynecologist, specializing in reproductive endocrinology and infertility at the Fertility Institute of New Jersey and New York. Dr. Berin has authored several scientific publications in the field of reproductive endocrinology and infertility.
Sandra Ann Carson is an American obstetrician who is the principal innovator of the first artificial human ovary. This innovation was reported in the Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics, and recognized by Time magazine as one of the top 10 medical breakthroughs in 2010.
Alka Kriplani is an Indian gynecologist,medical writer and academic, known for her contributions to the fields of Reproductive Endocrinology and Gynaecological Endoscopy. She was professor and the Head of the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. A recipient of the Dr. B. C. Roy Award in 2007, she was honoured by the Government of India in 2015 with Padma Shri, the fourth highest Indian civilian award.
Alan H. DeCherney is an Obstetrician and Gynecologist who specializes in reproductive endocrinology & infertility. He is experienced in reproductive and endocrinology, infertility, and reproductive genetics.
Peter C. Klatsky is a Doctor of Medicine specialized in reproductive endocrinology and infertility and an assistant professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Klatsky who is board certified in his specialty as well as in obstetrics and gynaecology, is also the Founder and CEO of Spring Fertility Management Llc, a San Francisco Bay Area fertility company. Klatsky is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international affairs.
The American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology is a non-profit organization that provides board certification for practicing obstetricians and gynecologists in the United States and Canada. It was founded in 1927, incorporated in 1930, and is based in Dallas, Texas. It is one of 24 medical boards recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties. ABOG's mission is to define the standards, certify obstetricians and gynecologists, and facilitate continuous learning to advance knowledge, practice, and professionalism in women's health.
Norbert Gleicher is an American obstetrician-gynecologist active in obstetrical practice, in vitro fertilization, reproductive endocrinology, and reproductive immunology. He is a fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (FACOG) and the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and currently serves as president, medical director and chief scientist of the Center for Human Reproduction (CHR) in New York City, a clinical fertility center that he founded in 1981. Simultaneously, he is President of the Foundation for Reproductive Medicine, a not-for-profit research foundation. Gleicher maintains additional academic appointments at Rockefeller University, and Medical University of Vienna.
The Society of Family Planning (SFP) is an international non-profit professional organization established in 2005 specializing in "abortion and contraception science" composed of physicians, nurses, sociologists, public health practitioners and trainees in these fields. The majority of member physicians include specialists of obstetrics and gynecology, family medicine, and adolescent medicine.
Duru Shah is a Mumbai-based gynaecologist academic and women activist. She is the Founder President of the PCOS Society, India and a promoter of adolescent girls and women's health and infertility in India. Shah is also the promoter of Metropolis Healthcare Ltd. She is also a Consultant ObGyn.: Breach Candy Hospital, Jaslok Hospital, Mumbai.
Genevieve Scott Neal-Perry is an American reproductive endocrinologist. She is the Robert A. Ross Distinguished Professor and Chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the UNC School of Medicine.
Willem Ombelet is a Belgian gynecologist/infertility specialist. From 1990 until 2019, he was the head of the fertility center of the Ziekenhuis Oost-Limburg hospital in Genk, Belgium. Ombelet is a pioneer of intrauterine insemination (IUI). He is the founder and editor-in-chief the open-access journal Views & Vision in ObGyn. Ombelet co-founded The Walking Egg, a non-profit organization that tackles global infertility in a holistic, multidisciplinary, and integral way.